1. Field
One or more exemplary embodiments relate to a volume rendering apparatus and a volume rendering method, and more particularly, to a volume rendering apparatus and a volume rendering method, which perform volume rendering by locally applying a gain value or a threshold value.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, in various medical fields, medical imaging apparatuses for imaging and obtaining information about biological tissues of a human body have become widely used to diagnose early or treat various diseases. Examples of such medical imaging apparatuses include an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus, a computerized tomography (CT) apparatus, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus.
Ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses transmit ultrasound signals generated by transducers of a probe to an object and receive echo signals reflected from the object, thereby obtaining at least one image of an internal part of the object. In particular, ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses are used for medical purposes including observation of the interior of an object, detection of foreign substances, and diagnosis of damage to the object. Such ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses provide high stability, display images in real-time, and are safe due to the lack of radioactive exposure, compared to X-ray apparatuses.
Meanwhile, volume data indicating a volume of a 3-dimensional (3D) object, obtained by such ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses, is visualized as visual information for diagnosis. For example, in volume rendering, a 2D image is displayed by projecting the volume data on a 2D screen, and by using the volume rendering, an image in which the interior of a 3D object or 3D semitransparent materials are visualized may be displayed.